What makes a high quality garment?
DESIGN
Well-considered design is key to the inception of a high quality garment.
Design pillars such as garment fit & drape, style & aesthetic, as well as intended function are a few of the many important considerations when starting a design from scratch.
Often overlooked are small design details such as unique seam & stitching styles, silhouettes & finishing techniques, which can all create a unique appeal.
Consider how each design will be worn, as well as how they will be implemented within the entirety of your full collection, in order to create a cohesive aesthetic.
Often times, these design details are the initial selling feature of a garment, and therefore need to be well considered & executed on.
Consider every garment detail as an opportunity to create something unique.
FABRIC
Fabric selection will dictate many critical factors of garment quality, such as longevity, comfort, fit & drape, etc.
Choosing high quality fabric requires many considerations, such as :
Composition [fiber content]
Characteristics
Functionality
Technical properties
Sustainability
Season & Style
Care & Mainenetnace
The list could go on & on, the point is : fabric selection IQ is crucial to any high quality garment.
EMBELLISHMENT
Garment embellishment is a crucial factor in separating your brands design identity from the rest of the market competition, it can come in many forms such as graphic design, embroidery, fabric color dye & palette, hardware finishing pieces, etc.
In our opinion, graphic design is likely the most valuable tool for creating a unique design identity due to its unlimited potential for creating in-depth design & creative artworks tailoring to a specific brand or theme.
Therefore, we will use graphic design for this example :
If you look at the graphic artwork being created by high fashion streetwear brands in the market today, the quality & creativity is very apparent and almost immediately obvious.
The creativity and depth of the designs are very clearly well-considered & a large time investment has been taken in order to achieve something unique & appealing to look at, taken a step further yet by the consideration of smaller details such as textures, shadows & highlights, exposure, color palette, etc.
Conversely, if you look into the market of cheaper brands which aren’t prioritizing the highest quality design process possible, it also becomes very apparent & obvious.
Often times, startup brands will choose cheap graphic artists form Fiver who work extremely fast & cheap, they don’t care about the final result, they only care about how quickly they can be done & paid.
The result of this typically ends up being a graphic artwork design which lacks all of the key qualities mentioned in the high fashion market, and therefore won’t sell well due to its underwhelming visual appeal.
Whichever methods you choose to embellish your garment collection with, ensure that you or your creative team care & consider each and every small detail for every design, as this will go a very long way in a market which mostly lacks these qualities.
CONSTRUCTION / CRAFTSMANSHIP
There are thousands of garment manufacturing facilities around the world, so many that it can become overwhelming.
With this being said, this comes with a spectrum of quality across the board.
There are professional facilities which have years of experience in creating high quality garments, priding themselves on craftsmanship & the expertise which they offer.
Not only do these high grade facilities value craftsmanship when it comes to garment construction, they typically also offer higher quality finishing options such as quality screen print ink & technology, quality fabric dye solutions & dye techniques, fabric treatment options like stone washing or enzyme washing, etc.
On the other end, there are extremely poor quality facilities which exploit cheap labor, utilize cheap materials & lack in expertise, these facilities typically have no standards for how the workers are treated or paid, and will almost always deliver a low quality product.
It goes without saying which of the two options is the appropriate choice for those looking to start a successful clothing brand which can stand the test of time, however you would be surprised to know how many brands choose the cheaper option as a way of cutting cost themselves.
Choosing a low grade production partner for your brand will almost certainly result in the decay of your brand image, as offering high quality product is essential to compete in this market.
DETAILS & FINISHING
“It’s all in the details” : A mantra to live by.
We love this saying because it could hold any truer than in our industry.
When it comes to designing & creating high quality garments, each of the small details matter so much more than many would think.
Details such as :
Garment Design : unique silhouettes & fittings, etc.
Embellishment : graphic artwork & embroidery, etc.
Hardware : zippers, buttons & trim pieces, etc .
Construction : unique seams & stitching, etc.
Fabric Treatment : Stone washing, sun fading, etc.
Again, this list could go on forever as there are endless ways to add details to your garment, the key takeaway is to ensure that you consider & implement all of them with each garment you offer.
SUSTAINABLE & ETHICAL PRODUCTION
To be honest, this isn’t something that we see very many startup brands care about or even consider, which is astonishing considering the current landscape of the fashion market.
Fast fashion has become a massive problem for our environment, as well as the workers who are being unethically forced to work brutal hours in poor conditions, while being criminally underpaid.
The market is beginning to understand the impact of cheaply made clothing, and its effects on real human workers & the environment.
It isn’t surprising that these facilities which are operating under unethical & unsustainable conditions, are also the ones which produce incredibly poor quality garments, which ties back to our previous point on craftsmanship as well.
By choosing an ethical & sustainable production facility to create your garments, you will not only end up with a better product, but also a much stronger brand image for your audience to attribute to.
You will also be able to sleep at night, knowing the people who work hard to create your vision are being treated well & paid a livable wage for it.
Note : this is not business advice, only reiteration of our own research & experience working with brands. Use information at your own discretion.
